Fall Soccer Season

This weekend we finished up our fall soccer season with games on Saturday. Grandparents were able to come up and spend some time with us.

 My parents came up on Wednesday evening and were able to be here for soccer games on Thursday night. Elijah, Timothy, and Joanna had games on Thursday night while Isaac and Sarah refereed a game.

 Bryan's parents arrived on Friday afternoon and Gigi (Bryan's mother) brought supper for all of us. She is an amazing cook. She made chicken and dumplings and red beans and rice. Elijah, Timothy, and Joanna helped make the banana pudding, and they enjoyed licking the spoons and bowls.

 Soccer games started early on Saturday. Isaac and Sarah had the first game at 9 and then the other children played games after that with the last game at 1:30. It was a hot and exhausting day. Sarah and Isaac had two games and in between their two games they refereed three games (they were busy and tired).

 Do you recognize these two soccer players? This was one of our first soccer seasons when they were younger... much younger. They began playing Upward soccer when they were 5 and 7 years old.

Here they are all grown up! (Makes my heart melt!) In the fall of 2014 they began playing soccer at the local recreational league. It was a whole different game than Upwards. We had to get use to the rules and plays of soccer at this level. They have had some great times playing soccer. Our family is very blessed to have the physical ability to play a sport and we often remind the children that we never should take that for granted. Thank you Lord!!

Look What Elijah Found!

When we had our first child, a boy, I just knew that he would be bringing home frogs, lizards, and bugs...not so! Isaac was never one to be interested in those things, much less pick something up and bring it to me. LOL!! BUT Elijah has made up for all that! He brings me enough to make up for all that Isaac didn't bring in. One day Elijah brought home this little guy to show me and the other children. He found him up at the pond.

 This is not the first and won't be the last thing that he brings for show and tell.

He let this little guy go and now we have these pictures to remember one of his many creatures. Love it when we can learn and investigate right at home! God's creation shows us His marvelous works!

Youth Camp 2018

Our full month started off with our family attending Youth Camp the first week of June. This was the first time we all were able to attend and it was a blessing to be together. The week started by leaving our church early Monday morning and traveling by bus to east Tennessee. Bryan and our youth minister have been doing this youth camp together for 9 years! Isaac and Sarah have been attending for a few years and always look forward to camp! There were a total of 8 worship services, a breakout session each day, games, devotions, and much more! The theme for the week was "He in Me", we learned that its about daily denying ourselves and allowing Jesus to live in and through us. Galatians 2:20 Wanted to share a few pictures from our week.

 Here is a picture of Sarah with one of her friends from another youth group. These two were excited to see each other and had a hard time leaving each other at the end of the week. On the day I took this picture they decided to dress alike. Love these two godly young ladies and can't wait to see all that God has planned for them.

 Elijah and Timothy actually got sick on Tuesday and ran a fever for a couple of days. They both were troopers and I was able to take them and rest most of those days they felt bad.

 Timothy thought this rock was cool! It was right outside the chapel and it had a place in the rock that looked just like a sit. Just had to get a picture of him sitting on this special rock.

There was another family at youth camp and Joanna was able to play with their little girls. They really enjoyed the play ground. It was also great to have another family there and we could help with each others kids. 

 Here is Isaac with a buddy from church. Isaac had a great time at camp and did a great job of making the younger youth boys (first year at camp) feel welcome and apart. I can see this young man maturing.

 On Friday morning the group hiked up the mountain. It was a big hike and these two did a great job of keeping up and trucking along. Proud of how well our three younger children did at youth camp.

 Here is the view from the top of the mountain we hiked up. When everyone arrived at the top we had biscuits and then our final worship service. It was amazing!

Bryan and I start the hike back down the mountain. I think our family would enjoy hiking together often. Makes us remember all the missionaries that have hiked up and down many mountains to get the gospel message to those who have never heard of Jesus. Praising the Lord that we are healthy enough to make hikes like this.

Elijah Turns 11!

Can you believe how fast time flies! This young man is now 11! Sarah made his cake just like he asked for and he added the M&M's to the icing. This boy is a builder! He can be very tender and loving. Yes, he is almost as tall as I am, which is not a whole lot. LOL! This boy is very independent and likes to be in charge. He is a great helper and has a huge imagination! This boy likes an adventure and he is 110% all BOY!! Elijah enjoys reading books! We are crazy about this young man and know that God has great plans for him!!

Regional Bible Drill Competition

In April Elijah competed in the Regional (State) Bible Drill competition in our region of Tennessee. He did great and was awarded State Superior. Very proud of him! Bryan and I were able to take him to competition while our parents came up and took the other children to soccer games. This was a great chance for us to spend some one on one time with him! We took him to lunch at the restaurant of his choice. We can't imagine our family with just one child, but we enjoy those times we can have some time with them individually. Love this young man and can't wait to see what the Lord has planned for him!

Psalm 19

We have our family worship at night before bed. Bryan decided to let each of our children lead family worship one night. On Elijah's night he shared Psalm 19, which is one of his Bible Drill verses, Psalm 19:14. This young man is paying attention to those verses he has memorized for Bible Drills. If he ever sees one of those verses somewhere he is quick to point it out. When our children have memorized verses for Bible Drills it means more seeds being planted in their lives. For us it's part of  "training them up in the way that they should go.." Proverbs 22:6.

Christmas 2017 Piano Recital

We are getting ready for our spring piano recital and I realized that I had not posted pictures of our Christmas recital. We have a wonderful piano teacher, she is the pianist at the church we attend. Elijah has done really well and played two songs at the recital, love this boy so much! He has been taking for two years.

Sarah really enjoys piano and does really well. She has even began being the backup keyboardist for the Youth Praise Band at the church we attend. She has even been taking voice this year as well. She played two songs at the recital and sang one song. Love this girl and her talent. Sarah has been taking piano off and on since she was 6 years old.

Associational Bible Drills 2018

Today was the day that Elijah participated in the Associational Bible Drills (County). He did great! I didn't mention in the last post, when he did drills at church, that they only have 10 seconds to find or step up on each section of the drill.  

 Elijah is in the middle on the above picture.

Here he is in action finding a book of the Bible. He will now get to move on and participate in Regional Bible Drills later this month. Very proud of this young man!

Bible Drills 2018

Five years ago we were introduced to Bible Drills and it has been a great thing for our children. Bible drills starts at 4th grade so for us it started with Isaac and Sarah participating. Now Elijah is old enough to participate. This past Wednesday night he competed at church and did great! He will compete this Sunday afternoon at our Associational competition.  

 Here he is waiting to get started. There are 4 parts of the competition. The first part is finding a book of the Bible then being able to say the book before, the book that was called and then the book after. The next part is Key passages, an example is Creation...the students then find the verses where the Creation is taught (Genesis 1-2:3). If called upon the must read a verse from that passage of scripture. The last two sections are from memory reciting Bible verses with either just the address (1 Corinthians 10:31) or with the first few words called out (Whether therefore ye eat...) then the student recites the full verse and where it is found.

Here is Elijah in full concentration. He hasn't really been nervous about this but I do believe when he got up on stage and it was time he got a little nervous. :) We are very proud of him! These verses are seeds that are being planted and will be with him for the rest of his life. I will post more pictures from Sunday.

The Trip Home

 We had lots of fun and made lots of memories but we were also ready to get home to our animals and normal life. Each night we camped in our pop-up camper and never had any problems or issues. God is good!

 These were a couple of pictures of scenery on the way home. We camped in Nebraska before making the long trek home. The weather on our trip was pretty but windy. From the night at the Badlands to this last night in Nebraska it was windy the whole time, some days were more windy than others. Very thankful that God kept us safe and that He provided each and every thing we needed for this trip to be possible.

On our last trek home it was Elijah's birthday so we let him choose where we were going to eat for supper. He chose Golden Corral...he likes buffets! :) This boy turned 10 that day and enjoyed every bite of his supper! Love this boy!!

4-H Banquet

In December 2017 our three oldest had a 4-H banquet where they were recognized for their participation in 4-H. All three of them received a pennant and certificate for being involved in the Loud Speakers Club (Public Speaking). Then Isaac and Sarah were inducted into the Tennessee 4-H Honor Club. Very proud of them for all their hard work and dedication. 

 Here is Isaac and Sarah during their induction ceremony.

Next year Timothy will be able to be apart. Very thankful for the opportunities that 4-H has given our children. Isaac and Sarah just competed in the Tennessee Regional 4-H Public Speaking Competition. Sarah received runner up  for 9th grade Western Division. Isaac won in 10th grade Western Division and will compete in State Competition in the spring.

Fun With the Younger Three Children

Back in June while Isaac, Sarah, and Bryan were at Youth Camp the rest of us had our own "Camp". The younger children and I decided to do some fun and interesting things. Each day we went over some of the verses that the others were learning at Youth Camp, The book of Philippians. Then one day we made these delicious oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. 

The cookies were very yummy!

Timothy and Joanna cleaned up their John Deere gator ride. Looks like she is being bossy but I really believe she is waiting her turn to wash. :)

We made this Tic-Tac-Toe board out of a cut of stump and rocks. I let them paint the wood and rocks. Lots of fun to make and play!

Then our last activity was to make Tye Die shirts. We picked out the colors they wanted, purple for Joanna, green for Timothy, and blue for Elijah. It was exciting to watch their faces light up as they unrolled those shirts and saw the patterns. I thought they did a great job!

I always enjoy spending time with just these three. They are lots of fun and love doing new things! I am a very blessed mother!

Elijah Is Now In The Double Digits!

Happy 10th birthday to this little man! He is our builder and fixer! Elijah loves to build things with his Legos or anything he can get his hands on. If it is broke he wants to try fixing it. 

 Elijah is definitely Dangerous, just like his shirt says, on and off the field! Never a dull moment with this boy around!

 We took him out to eat for his birthday and he enjoyed every bite of his meal and dessert! He chose to go to Golden Corral, he picked up his plate and headed to the buffets, looked around and said to Bryan "I don't know where to begin!".

Such a blessed mom to call this boy my son! He is a joy and blessing to me in many ways. I know that God has great plans for Elijah and I can't wait to see how all that unfolds. I could see Elijah being a builder on a mission team and sharing with others God's love and goodness! Praying for his little man to be a man after God's own heart and to be a blessing to everyone that crosses his path. Love you Elijah, more than you will ever know!

What is Elijah up to?

I wanted to post some pictures of Elijah and what he has been up to. Of coarse Elijah is always busy doing something. If he isn't doing school he is building something. He has been taking piano lessons since September 2016 and has done really well. He enjoys practicing each day and even making up his own songs. :)

 Here is a picture of him and Joanna at the piano. He was trying to teach her a song.

 This was Elijah's first year in 4-H and he was able to do the speech competition. His speech was on courage. He won second place in the county contest. Very proud of him!

Elijah likes having a snack! Here he is eating bananas and strawberries. He is such a adventurous child! Never know what he will be up to next. Very thankful God gave us Elijah and we get to celebrate his birthday next month!!

Race 2014

These three were in the Kidstock 1-mile race on August 2nd in Anniston, AL. Isaac was in Tennessee with Bryan and was not able to make it. 

Last year Sarah ran the race in 6:44 and placed 1st in her age group. This year Sarah ran the race in 6:32 and placed 2nd in all the girls! 

Elijah ran last year also and did a great job. We are so proud of him for completeing the race this year!

This was Timothy's first race and he ran it in 8:52. He placed 2nd in his age group!

Training for the race was a little more challenging this year considering our living situation. :) God is good and gave us some days to train on the coarse while we were in AL the week before the race. Thankful that our children are healthy enough to complete a 1-mile race! Thank you God! 

We are so proud of them but our goal is that they will achieve greater things for The Master!

1 Timothy 4:8 For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. 

Enjoying Some Nice Sunshine!

Back in December there were a few really nice days and so the kids and I took advantage of them and got out to play. We needed that outside time and enjoyed the sunshine. 

 Here are Elijah and Timothy playing with some tractors that were given to them as gifts.

 These two were having lots of fun! They even let Joanna join in the fun.

 Here is Joanna doing her part in gathering up the gravel. :)

These three play so good together and I am thankful that they have each other!

Thankful!

I am thankful for:
183) doing art with the kids.
184) warm potato soup with a hot grilled cheese sandwich.
185) the boys John Deere gator.
186) a home with two and a half bathrooms. :)
187) Jesus the Messiah.
188) a cool fall day outside.
189) the colors of fall.

Elijah's To Do List

For some time now Elijah has been asking to go and stay with Paw and Maw (my parents) by himself. We have arranged that while my dad has some time off at Thanksgiving that Elijah will go and stay a couple of days. He has already started planning out his stay and Bryan and I overheard him on the phone with my mom asking her "When am I coming to stay with you and doing what I want to do?" Have to love the honesty of children. :)

Here is his plans for his stay with Paw and Maw as he has wrote them out. I will try and translate.

Stay up at nap and watch TV. Eat peanut butter. Eat chocolate bars. Buy something. Play outside. Play inside. Eat something sweet.

The last one is the only one I am having trouble translating. He even has forgotten what he wrote. Elijah writes his words just like they sound to him. We are working on phonics. :)

These are the little notes and memories that I want to remember forever and share with him in the years to come. He is our thinker and he has thought out this trip. I just love this little guy!!

Thankful!!

I am thankful for:
141) jokes the kids tell.
142) a God who is my refuge.
143) frogs for the boys to catch. (Picture at top of Elijah holding a frog)
144) visiting Westwood Baptist Church (where Bryan and I were married).
145) being able to get ticks off. (Found lots already on us)
146) blackberry jam. (First time I have ever made any myself)
147) being able to be at home with my children.

Race Day 2013

 This past Saturday the 3 older children were in a 1 mile race in Anniston. This is Isaac's 3rd race, Sarah's 2nd race, and Elijah's 1st race. They have been training for a month. Isaac and Sarah's goal was to beat their times from last year.

One of the highlights of going to the race is we get to spend time with family (we stayed with my parents and then we went to a birthday party for our nephew and got to see some of Bryan's family!) and getting to see friends! We were able to se lots of people at the race that we haven't seen in years! :)

 Last year Isaac finished in 7:06 and this year he finished in 6:40!! So proud of him!! He placed 7th out of 28 boys aged 9-11. Yes, that is his coach (dad) running with him. :)

 Sarah's time last year was 7:25 and this year she finished in 6:44!! Go girl!! She placed 1st out of 14 girls aged 9-11!

 Elijah ran his mile in 8:27! He did so well! Yes, that is mom (me) running with him. :)

 Love doing things like this with the kids!! Here are the runners with their coach (dad) and their cheerleader (mom).

Here is Sarah receiving her award (girl on the right). Not the greatest picture. :(

Here is Sarah with her trophy! We are so proud of all of them and look forward to next year's race!